Pokémon Platinum
Pokémon Platinum, released in Japan as Pocket Monsters Platinum (ポケットモンスタープラチナ, Poketto Monsutā Purachina), is a title in the ''Pokémon'' series of video games. It is an enhanced remake of Pokémon Diamond and Pearl in the same vein as Pokémon Yellow, Crystal, and Emerald. It was released on September 13, 2008, in Japan, in North America on March 22, 2009 and willbe released in Europe on May 22, 2009. Plot The storyline involves a disturbance atop Mt.Coronet, as a portal to the "Distortion World" (やぶれたせかい, Yabureta Sekai?) is opened and Sinnoh's climate becomes colder. The trainers have been given new outfits to suit the colder climate. The Distortion World is a strange place in another dimension. The normal laws of gravity and physics do not apply here. Gameplay The basic mechanics of Platinum are largely the same as their predecessors'. As with all Pokémon games for hand-held consoles, gameplay is in third-person, overhead perspective and consists of three basic screens: a field map, in which the player navigates the main character; a battle screen; and the menu, in which the player configures his party, items, or gameplay settings. The player begins the game with one Pokémon, and can capture more using Pokéballs, devices for capturing Pokémon. The player can also use his/her Pokémon to battle other Pokémon (either wild or owned by another trainer). When the player encounters a wild Pokémon or is challenged by a trainer to a battle, the screen switches to a turn-based battle screen where the Pokémon fight. During battle, the player may fight, use an item, switch his/her active Pokémon, or flee (the last not an option in battles against trainers). All Pokémon have hit points (HP); when a Pokémon's HP is reduced to zero, it faints and cannot battle (unless revived with a Pokémon skill or item). If the player's Pokémon defeats the opposing Pokémon (causes it to faint), it receives experience points. After accumulating enough experience points, it may level up; most Pokémon evolve (become a new Pokémon) when they reach a certain level. Apart from battling, capturing Pokémon is the most essential element of Pokémon gameplay. During battle with a wild Pokémon (other trainers' Pokémon cannot be captured), the player may use a Pokéball on the wild Pokémon. If successful, the Pokémon will be added to the player's active party (or stored if the player already has the maximum six Pokémon in his party). Factors in the success rate of capture include the HP of the target Pokémon and the strength of the Pokéball used: the lower the target's HP and the stronger the Pokéball, the higher the success rate of capture is. The game is set in the fantasy world of Sinnoh, which is the habitat for 493 different species of Pokémon, some of which are exclusive to this region. The games Pokemon Diamond Version and Pokemon Pearl Version cover the adventure of a single protagonist embarking on a quest to capture and train Pokémon while simultaneously thwarting the agenda of the criminal organization Team Galactic. Both games are independent of each other but feature largely the same plot and, while both can be played separately, it is necessary to trade between them in order to fully complete the games' Pokédexes. The Sinnoh Saga of the Pokémon Anime is based on the games' plots. Different than Diamond and Pearl instead of happening to catch Dialga or ''Palkia. Cyrus will open both of them up then the Legendary Trio, ''Uxie, Mesprit, and Azelf, will fly around swirling atop of Mt.Coronet, then unexpectedly Giratina comes out in its Origin Form and takes Cyrus to the Distortion World. Differences *Giratina, a Legendary Pokémon, is the game's mascot. Unlike the original two games, both Dialga and Palkia can also be caught. *The protagonists' clothes are blue rather than red. *When players merge their Shaymin over to Pokémon Platinum, it'll transform into its sky form. *The plot revolves around climate change, something that didn't occur in Diamond or Pearl. Because of this, all of the characters have warmer clothes on. *After defeating the Elite Four, the three legendary birds, Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres are avaliable for capture in Sinnoh. *Team Galactic has a new Scientist named Pluto who, at one point, met the Pokémon Rotom, *Team Galactic also invades Stark Mountain, after beating the Elite Four. *The Battle Frontier, which was first introduced in Pokémon Emerald, appears again in Platinum. In the Wi-Fi Plaza, an arcade area, the player can play minigames with other people over the Wi-Fi connection. *Enhanced Sinnoh Pokédex. Switched the limit from 151 to 210, including Giratina. * Lucas, Dawn and Pearl have new clothes designed for colder weather since the entire Sinnoh region has dropped in temperature. *The Pokétch has been redesigned. Players can now scroll up and down between applications instead of having to cycle through them all to reach a previous one. *Some moves have been redesigned with a different animation, like Razor Leaf. *When Pokémon are called from their Poké Balls, the back view animation has been changed, as well as the front view animations. Like the animations introduced in Pokémon Emerald and continued in Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, these animations will consist of two frames with variations on the sprite. *When battling against certain Trainers, such as Gym Leaders and the rival, their sprites are now animated to move in the same manner as a Pokémon's sprite. *Some Trainers (including your rival) use Seals when sending out their Pokémon. *Three of the region's Gyms have been changed. Eterna, Hearthome, and Veilstone Gyms have all been redesigned. *Gym Leader closeups, just before a Gym battle, have been changed from enlarged sprites to higher-quality drawings, and the term VS. *The template in battle for a Pokémon's name, level, and HP is now a dark gray instead of white, and its shape has also been changed. *When entering new areas, the location labels in the top-left corner of the screen have been redesigned, similar to their update between Pokémon Ruby & Sapphire and Pokémon Emerald. *When first visiting the Resort Area, the player is given access to a large house. Inside on a table, there is a catalog that lists different items that can be mail-ordered to decorate the house. This is similar to the Secret Bases of Hoenn. *Newer items such as Platinum Orb, Glacidea, and the Battle Recorder. ''My Pokémon Ranch ''My Pokémon Ranch is a downloadable WiiWare video game that allows players to store Pokémon from their Nintendo DS games onto the Wii and then merge them back. When Platinum was first released, the game was not supported on the service, but rather just featured support for Pokémon Diamond and Pearl. Nintendo issued a statement stating that this would be changed by the year's end, and stayed true to their promise. Not only that, but Nintendo gave those who updated the software a gift: the ability to store 500 more Pokémon than normal (beforehand it was just 1,000). This update was made on November 5, 2008. They also included the seven new forms that were made exclusively for Pokémon Platinum, as well as other special updates to the ranch too. Reception In a hands-on preview of Pokémon Platinum, Kat Bailey of 1UP.com praised the game's many new features as well as its improvements in interface and graphics. "Pokémon fans probably won't be found wanting with Platinum. Even after you finish up the main quest, stop messing around with the Battle Recorder, and clear out the Battle Frontier, you've still got side quests and contests to keep you busy. And once you venture back down the Pokémon rabbit hole, you won't be coming up again for a while," wrote Bailey. Famitsu gave the game a score of 9/9/9/9 for a total of 36 points. "From the new story elements to the addition of the Battle Frontier, there's a ton of neat stuff, and you're getting a lot for your money here," they remarked. Pokémon Platinum sold 1 million copies in its first two days on the Japanese market. According to Media Create, the game has sold 2 million copies in Japan as of December 7, 2008. Thus, it is the fastest-selling Nintendo DS title as of late. Category: Pokémon games Category: Nintendo DS games Category: Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection games Category: 2008 video games Category:Role-playing games